For the first time since 2019, Skyline College held its annual scholarship awards ceremony in Building 12 on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Scholarships recipients, donors, staff, faculty, San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation and District staff came together to celebrate this momentous occasion. The event was also lived-streamed for family, friends, and the college community who were unable to attend in-person.

This year, approximately 300 scholarships totaling $187, 577 were awarded. A special recognition to this year’s UC Santa Cruz Karl S. Pister Opportunity Award scholarship recipient, Ms. Hannah Mayfield and the San Bruno Crestmoor Memorial Neighborhood Scholarship recipients, Isabel Martin and Patricia Mae Sumang. During these times of rising educational costs and extraordinary financial difficulties, the support of our donors, through the scholarship program directly impact our students’ ability to continue their education.

On behalf of the Scholarship Committee and the Financial Aid Office, we extend our gratitude to the Skyline community for helping and encouraging students to apply for scholarships.

To view the prerecorded Scholarship ceremony, click here.

 

Article by Patricia Flores | Photos by Zaw Min Khant

Expand your network in ways that will lead to your dream job. The Career Readiness & Job Placement team is excited to share the following paid internship opportunities with you. Check them out—

• Science, Technology & Health Internships
• Society & Education Internships

How may we assist you in landing your dream job? Whether you’re interested in short- or long-term career planning, the Career Readiness & Job Placement team offers a variety of services and career readiness experiences to assist you with your specific career needs. If you want to work with a Job Placement Coordinator, please fill out this brief welcome form and someone will contact you soon to schedule an appointment!

How may we assist you in landing your dream job? The Career Readiness & Job Placement team is excited to share the following job opportunities with you. Check them out—

• Arts, Languages & Communication Jobs
• Business, Entrepreneurship & Management Jobs
• Science, Technology & Health Jobs
• Society & Education Jobs
• Just-In-Time Jobs

Whether you’re interested in short- or long-term career planning, the Career Readiness & Job Placement team offers a variety of services and career readiness experiences to assist you with your specific career needs. If you want to work with a Job Placement Coordinator, please fill out this brief welcome form and someone will contact you soon to schedule an appointment!

The 2022 Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday May 27, 2022 at 1 p.m. outdoors at the Skyline College Track & Field. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Gymnasium in Building 3.

Attendees/guests are advised to dress in layers for this outdoor ceremony and to wear shoes with flat soles for safety and maintaining field integrity.

For more information, please visit https://skylinecollege.edu/commencement.

 

 

On May 6 and 7, 2022, Skyline College’s Annual Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) returned onstage with its 17th feature play and first intercultural show, Ang Kulay Ng Pag-Ibig / El Color Del Amor / The Color of Love.

The Color of Love was a collaboration of the Kababayan, Puente, and CIPHER Learning Communities, another first in PCN history. The play was written in the ENGL 103 class in Fall 2021 by Emi Robles and Ezekiel John Recto; in Spring 2022, the ENGL 104/695 students directed and produced the play. Dr. Liza Erpelo teaches both courses.

The story followed two gay San Francisco State University seniors who announced their engagement to their conservative Filipino American and Mexican American families. The couple continued to fight for love and freedom as they faced opposition from their families and discovered their twisted secrets.

For two nights in a row, the audience positively received this PCN’s cross-cultural components that included but were not limited to Filipino American and Mexican American family dynamics, languages, dances, and music.

All proceeds from the ticket sales went directly to the Friends of Kababayan scholarship fund. More information about the Kababayan Learning Community and ways to donate to the scholarship fund can be found here: https://skylinecollege.edu/kababayan/index.php

The show would not be possible without the help of several important people. Many thanks to the Theatre Events Manager, Joshua Harris; Jae Tioseco and Bonjun Valera, Barangay Dance Company; Amanda Bortoli, Skyline College Graphic Arts & Graphic Production; Dr. Nicole Porter and Kathy Fitzpatrick, Social Sciences/Creative Arts Division; Alex Urbina, Puente Counselor and Pilipino Cultural Night actress; and Ezekiel John Recto, Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant and Pilipino Cultural Night executive director.

Thank you and mabuhay! 

 

Article by Ezekiel John Recto & Dr. Liza Erpelo

Join us for a Self-Defense Workshop with Master Joseph Bautista from Legacy Filipino Martial Arts on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

We will meet up at the Intercultural Center Event Area (Bldg. 4) and proceed outdoors. This special workshop is open to the first 25 registrants and a waiting list will be available. Register here: https://bit.ly/selfdefenseFMA

For more information, visit https://www.legacyfma.com/

Description of Workshop: Learn how to defend against a punch, a push, and a choke. You will also be given basic self-defense tips and tactics regarding situational awareness and verbal de-escalation. You will leave having working knowledge of how to use everyday items as a tool for self-defense. Expect to have fun while learning to defend yourself!

 

About Master Joseph Bautista:

Master Joseph Bautista is all about safety, specializing in Filipino martial arts. He began his training in martial arts at the age of 4.  Since 2003, he has been mainly focused on Filipino Martial Arts. Joseph runs Legacy Filipino Martial Arts, a Filipino martial arts school based in Daly City, California.

He also teaches self-defense with Self Defense For the People, a self-defense program with clients such as Salesforce, Airbnb, Gap, UPS, and UCSF. When not teaching self-defense, he is teaching CPR and First Aid Skills to 911 Dispatchers and Local Police Officers in the SF Bay Area with 1st Five Minutes.

 

Coordinated by the Anti-Asian Hate Task Force at Skyline College

 

The Free Drive-Thru Community Market at Skyline College relies on volunteer support to provide groceries to members of the local community. We are currently running low on volunteers and urgently need your support to ensure we can maintain service levels and continue to fill this critical need.

Please help us support the community and sign up to volunteer! Register here: bit.ly/food-dist-volunteer

A bit more about what you’ll be doing as a volunteer:

This is a Drive-Thru site with Pre-Boxed food that takes place outdoors at Lot G on the Skyline College campus. Food distribution is a hands-on volunteer activity. Activities could include assisting with set up, unloading and moving food from pallets, sorting and distributing food, and clean up.

The Biotechnology and Manufacturing Club and the Chemistry department at Skyline College provided hands-on experience for students and staff on the study of microplastic pollution, as well as checking water samples on campus and around Pacifica, CA. This opportunity (Thursday, May 5, 3:00 – 5:00 pm) was hosted by Dr. Nick Kapp (Biotechnology Faculty), Dr. Susanne Schubert (Chemistry Faculty), and Benjamin-Rafael Mingoa (Student Researcher). The research study was started with Dr. Christine Case (Biology Faculty), who mentored and supported students on the identification of microplastic pollution.

Participants tested environmental samples (sand and creek water) from Pacifica and observed different types of pollution in waterways leading out into the ocean. They found microplastic particles were in sand samples, compared to very small concentrations in the creek water. For students, this event was eye-opening to the importance of personal awareness of pollution in our community.

An attending student shares, “This has been one of the most eye opening experiences that I have had. Overall, I am impressed by the research that was developed by my peers. I found it very impactful and it has changed my perspective significantly.”

For more information on how to get involved in research, reach out to the Honors Transfer Program and visit their website at: https://www.skylinecollege.edu/honorstransfer/

 

Article by Benjamin-Rafael Mingoa and Kaileiani Louie | Photo by Benjamin-Rafael Mingoa

 

With gratitude, commendation and recognition, the Zero Textbook Cost Program celebrates all 158 unique Spring 2022 faculty currently offering ZTC and LTC courses! 339 fully ZTC ($0 for course materials) class sections and 73 Low Textbook Cost (LTC, ≥$40 for course materials) class sections are serving 8,801 students registered in ZTC/LTC classes! Faculty course material choices this SP2022 semester resulted in an out-of-pocket course material estimated savings to Skyline Students of $860,779.

We look forward to continued growth and cultivation of the ZTC program. Stay tuned new opportunities for supporting the Zero Textbook Cost Program this Fall.

Until then, have a happy, healthy summer and stay engaged with us on the web at skylinecollege.edu/ztc

 

Article by Bianca Rowden-Quince & Ame Maloney

 

Although the Bay Area is still a bit cold in May, it cannot stop the progress of biotechnology professor Dr. Nick Kapp and students Jonathan Zhang and Azure Bell. On May 10, 2022, with Dr. Kapp as the team leader, a group of three Skyline College Biotechnology students participated in the 7th annual South San Francisco High School (SSFHS) Science Garage Poster Session.

Science Garage is part of the Genentech Futurelab science education initiative to inspire the next generation of scientists at South San Francisco Unified School District. At the high school level, students have the option to participate in a four-year biotechnology pathway. The pathway begins at 9th grade with students taking biology with a biotechnology unit. Students will then have the option to join the SSFHS Biotechnology Pathway. Both El Camino High School and South San Francisco High School have the same pathway, curriculum and equipment. This year’s Science Garage Poster Session was held in a 8000 sq. ft. biotechnology laboratory in SSFHS donated by Genentech Futurelab. All the students are welcome to use the state-of-the-art building to engage in an innovative, hands-on and minds-on curriculum.

Skyline College also has a close cooperation with SSFHS. Right now high school students taking biotechnology courses will earn Skyline College credits in Dual Enrollment. These credits will appear on their community college transcript. The final grade earned in the dual-enrolled courses will be counted towards community college GPA calculation. Students who wish to enroll in biotechnology should anticipate a college-level rigor curriculum. Additionally, students can earn college credits for free! Skyline College offers BTEC 400(2 units ,CSU transferable), BTEC 170 (3 units, CSU/UC transferable) and BTEC 171 (1 unit, CSU/UC transferable) courses for students to take. 

During the Science Garage Poster Session, a total of more than a dozen groups of posters were displayed, and there were research displays in the field of microorganisms, including the impact of different phages on antibiotic screening. There were also studies in the field of biochemistry, including comparative studies of different ELISA methods for meat contamination detection, etc. Meanwhile, in the field of molecular biology, a comparative study of rapid detection methods for genetically modified foods was also presented. In all presentations, high school students can share their research content confidently and fluently. The research route was clear, including pre-hypotheses, experimental verifications, post-conclusions, and future prospects, etc. The research demonstrated the outstanding scientific research strength of contemporary high school students, a very exciting event.

The Skyline College Biotechnology students enjoyed giving back to the community and seeing where they were just a few years ago.  By helping evaluate these posters the Skyline Biotechnology students can gauge how far they have come in their Biotech studies.

 

Article by Jonathan Zhang | Photos by Nick Kapp